"Shade America!"

Dedicated to preserving and educating the public about the natural environment, the Missouri Department of Conservation and Montauk State Park provide many nature programs throughout the year. To celebrate

Arbor Day held a very special event in which hundreds of trees were offered to the public for free.

The very first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10, 1872, in which an estimated one million trees were planted that day. Now, on the last Friday of every April, people celebrate Arbor Day by planting and caring for trees and educating others about the importance of trees.

Free tree seedlings were handed out to park visitors at the Dorman L. Steelman Lodge last Saturday, March 12, as part of Montauk’s “Shade America!” campaign in which visitors are encourages to plant a tree at home to grow a tree for future generations. All trees were provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation’s George White Nursery. Any trees that were not taken by the public are going to be planted in the park by the Missouri Department of Conservation, with help from local school children as a chance to educate them about the importance of trees.

Montauk has been doing their annual Arbor Day tree give-away for years and according to Stephen Bost, of the Missouri Department of Conservation, this year was the fastest he had run out of trees to give away. Visitors were able to take as many trees as they wished from their choice of 16 different types of trees. Some of the different types of trees that were offered include:

·         Persimmon

·         Flowering Dogwood

·         White Oak

·         White Walnut

·         American Hazelnut

·         Red Mulberry

As an extra incentive to get involved, Montauk also held a drawing in which the winner receives an extremely rare Ozarks tree. This tree is known as the Ozark Chinquapin. Apparently, this tree only produces one seed per bur and resembles the American Chestnut tree and is nearly extinct.

Montauk offers several other nature programs throughout the year including:

·         “Spring Wildflower Event”- April 9 and April 16

·         “Fly Fishing Clinic”- June 11

·         “Stream Water Quality Monitoring Demonstration”- June 18

·         “Live Hummingbird Banding Demonstration”- August 20

For more information on upcoming events please call the Montauk State Park Office at (573)548-2201.